Financial Security Sentiments Regain Lost Ground in April

BLOOMINGTON, Ill., April 20 /PRNewswire/ -- While 2010 began with dismal financial security sentiments, Americans now feel more optimistic about nearly all aspects of their financial security.  The COUNTRY Financial Security Index® increased 1.8 points in April to 64.9, recovering ground from a record-setting decline in February.  

The April COUNTRY Index reveals 38 percent currently rate their overall financial security as good or excellent compared to 35 percent in February.  And, Americans may be seeing a light at the end of the tunnel, as confidence in long-term financial goals showed the most improvement.  Those confident they will have the financial resources to send their children to college jumped five points to 61 percent, and those confident they will have a comfortable retirement increased four points to 57 percent.

"While it's still too early to tell if the optimism will last, it's encouraging to see people starting to regain confidence in their finances this month," says Keith Brannan, vice president of Financial Security Planning for COUNTRY Financial.  "In our experience, the best way to maintain long-term confidence is to create and stick to a tangible plan.  Having a plan helps people navigate through volatile financial times."

More Americans able to save

More Americans (45 percent) were able to set aside money for savings or investments in April than in February (43 percent).  While an equal number (45 percent) of men and women now say they were able to save this month, the number of women able to set aside money grew five points while the number of men able to do so dropped one point.

Confidence in asset protection increases

Eighty-one percent are currently confident their house, car and possessions are adequately protected, up two points from February.

"After confidence declined at the beginning of the year, it is good news that more people now believe that their assets are protected," adds Brannan.  "Protecting what you've achieved in life – home, property and income – is just as important as saving and investing for the future."  

Individuals can learn more and compare their own results with the national COUNTRY Financial Security Index by visiting http://www.countryfinancialsecurityindex.com.  The next COUNTRY Financial Security Index will be released April 20, 2010 and subsequently every other month.

The COUNTRY Financial Security Index

The COUNTRY Financial Security Index® is a bi-monthly measure of Americans' sentiments toward their overall financial security.  It is an aggregate of various factors comprising financial security including savings and investments, financial planning, retirement, education and asset protection.

The COUNTRY Index was created by COUNTRY Financial and is compiled by Rasmussen Reports, LLC, an independent research firm, based on a national telephone survey of at least 3,000 Americans.

The margin of sampling error for a survey based on this many interviews is approximately +/- 2 percentage points with a 95 percent level of confidence.

About COUNTRY

COUNTRY Financial (http://www.countryfinancial.com) serves about one million households and businesses throughout the United States.  It offers a full range of financial products and services from auto, home and life insurance to retirement planning services, investment management and annuities.

SOURCE COUNTRY Financial